Today is
Friday June 05, 2026
CHANDLER – According to our news partner KETK, an accountant at the East Texas heating and air conditioning company, Air Chandler, has been arrested after she allegedly stole as much as $300,000 from the business. Donna Moore, 53 of Chandler, was arrested on Sunday by the Chandler Police Department. The Henderson County District Attorney’s Office began investigating Moore for potentially embezzling from the business after Air Chandler owner Mike Chandler said he turned over months-worth of information to their office in July.
In Moore’s arrest affidavit, a Chandler PD officer states that “Moore adjusted her pay, without consent, receiving unapproved wages. Moore also obtained a company credit card that she used for unauthorized charges.”
“Took me four months of hard work 24 hours a day to save my business from going into bankruptcy because of this woman,” Mike Chandler said. “During the month of July, this information was turned over to the district attorney, and they determined that she is a thief. The very same people that I help and give and do so much for, were stealing me blind the whole time.” Read the rest of this entry »
TRINITY – The Trinity Police Department arrested a 17-year-old driver after a multi-county chase on Sunday morning.
According to our news partner KETK and Trinity PD, law enforcement chased a truck for over 100 miles through Trinity, Houston, Polk and Tyler counties. The truck evaded spike strips and eventually came to a stop after the wheels came off just outside of Kountze in Hardin County.
The driver, a 17-year-old male, was arrested without incident and taken back to Trinity County, Trinity PD said. The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Highway Patrol and the Houston County Sheriffs Office also assisted with the chase.
TYLER – Our news partner KETK is reporting that the Starbucks location on South Broadway Ave and South Town Drive in Tyler is closing permanently along with hundreds of other stores around the United States. The Tyler location confirmed that they officially closed on Sunday and have started to move equipment out of the store. As of Sunday, the only other location known to be closing is the Crockett Starbucks, Houston County’s only Starbucks.
The closures come as the coffeehouse-giant Starbucks announced that they’ve shut down hundreds of locations around United States and across North America as a part of an internal review of their portfolio of stores.
An exact number of stores effected hasn’t been released yet, but unofficial lists contain more than 500 stores that are reportedly closing. Niccol said that Starbucks will close about 1% of their North America locations by the end of the 2025 fiscal year. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The Republican Party of Texas is currently threatening to censure East Texas State Representatives Cody Harris of Palestine and Gary VanDeaver of New Boston, because of some of their votes this year. Republican Party of Texas Rule 44 allows county Republican Party executive committees to adopt resolutions censuring their representatives. According to our news partner KETK, since Harris and VanDeaver have both been censured by local county Republican Parties, the state party is now taking up their own versions of the county party censure resolutions.
Harris and VanDeaver are just two of ten Texas State Representatives who are facing censure resolutions from the Republican Party of Texas. The resolutions each list several actions that the representatives made that are “in opposition to the core principles of the Republican Party of Texas.”
The members are being encouraged to attend an Oct. 11 meeting of the State Republican Executive Committee, which will decide whether or not they’ll agree with the county censure resolutions and whether they’ll issue any penalties.
Henderson County Republican Party vice chair and parliamentarian Clint Stutts spoke to our news partner KETK News about their June 30 resolution to censure Harris. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER, Texas (KETK) — According to our news partner KETK, a Tyler man has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty after a dog was found dead at his residence on Glass Avenue.
Arrest documents revealed that Tyler police officers found the deceased dog in August, noting that it had died due to a lack of food and water and was living in poor conditions. A second dog was found extremely emaciated and is under the care of Tyler Animal Control.
Police arrested Titus Demar Hambrick on Tuesday and was released the following day.
SABINE COUNTY – The Texas Game Wardens are seeking the public’s help in finding a missing 21-year-old college student, Peyton Hughes, who was last seen on Wednesday on the Toledo Bend Reservoir.
According to our news partner KETK and the Texas Game Wardens, Hughes is a student at Campbellsville University in Kentucky and was pre-fishing for Bassmaster competition when he was reported missing. Several agencies in both Texas and Louisiana are assisting in finding Hughes, including the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Agents, the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office and the Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office.
No further information is available at this time.
HUNTSVILLE – According to our news partner KETK, Rusk County District Attorney Michael Jimerson spoke at a press conference in Huntsville on Thursday after the execution of convicted murderer Blaine Milam.
Milam and his girlfriend Jesseca Carson were arrested in 2008 after Carson’s 13-month-old daughter Amora was found dead inside their home. Milam and Carson beat Amora with a hammer and bit, strangled and mutilated her body over a 30-hour period, according to prosecutors.
Milam was put to death in Huntsville at 6:40 p.m. on Thursday. His last meal included a cheeseburger, oven-fried potatoes, green beans, pinto beans, sliced bread, scrambled eggs, country gravy, a sausage patty, pears, biscuits, tea and water. Read the rest of this entry »
HUNTSVILLE — An East Texas man was executed at 6:40 p.m. on Thursday evening, after killing his girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter in what the couple claimed was an exorcism to cast a demon from the infant’s body. Our news partner KETK reports that hours before the execution the U.S. Supreme Court denied Blaine Milam’s final appeal for a stay. Milam opted out of having a spiritual advisor in his final hours.
Milam, then 18, and his girlfriend, Jesseca Carson, were arrested in December 2008 after police discovered the body of Carson’s daughter, Amora, inside their home. The child had suffered extensive injuries, including bite marks, blunt-force trauma and signs of sexual assault.
The medical examiner testified that Amora’s cause of death could not be pinpointed because of the sheer number of fatal injuries. Prosecutors said Milam and Carson beat the baby with a hammer and over a 30-hour period bit, strangled and mutilated her.
The couple initially gave shifting accounts, claiming Amora had hurt herself or eaten insulation, before admitting they had tried to “beat the demons out” of her during an exorcism. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — A woman was arrested Wednesday on a charge of endangering a child after her daughter reportedly suffered an overdose. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, dispatch received a 911 call regarding a possible overdose at a home on Candleridge Drive. Officials say a female child,23-months-old, was in a lethargic state. EMS transported the girl to UT Health ER in Tyler.
Smith County Investigators found that at approximately 3:15 pm, the child had ingested a THC gummy belonging to her mother, Kendall Johnson, 27, of Tyler. The child and her older brother were left unattended in Johnson’s vehicle while at a residence near Dixie Elementary School. When she returned to the vehicle, she realized her son and daughter had gotten into her THC gummies which were left in the vehicle. By this time, the daughter had already ingested a portion of one gummy. Johnson then went to the residence on Candleridge Drive where she stayed until she called 911 at approximately 5:00 pm. Read the rest of this entry »
LINDALE – According to our news partner KETK, a woman who was caught on camera abusing toddlers at a daycare in Lindale in 2024 pleaded guilty on Tuesday to injury to a child.
Catherine Elizabeth Guziejka was arrested in October of 2023 while working at Punkin’ Doodles Day Care. While working for the day care, video footage reportedly showed about 100 incidents where Guziejka was seen assaulting six children under her care. Guziejka has since been booked into the Smith County Jail on Oct. 30 and on Tuesday she pleaded guilty to injury to a child. Her trial has been scheduled for Nov 12, 2025.
TYLER – According to our news partner KETK, Blaine Milam will be executed Thursday for beating his girlfriend’s daughter to death in an alleged exorcism.
Milam and his girlfriend, Jessica Carson, were convicted in 20210 for the brutal killing of Amora Carson with a hammer and 24 human bite marks. Milam’s good friend, Jennifer Martin, continues to visit him and will be by his side until the last moment. Martin .”He is innocent 100%,” Martin said.
Martin met Milam on death row through her brother-in-law, Robert Roberson, who is set to be executed next month. Martin visited him just 24 hours before he is set to die on Thursday and said he is in good spirits. Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON COUNTY – Our news partner KETK is reporting that the current Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4 (JP4) announced on Tuesday that he will be retiring as JP following the completion of his current term. Judge Milton K. Adams has served East Texas for the past three decades, and his retirement will conclude more than 47 years of involvement in the criminal justice system, including his time as a Justice of the Peace.
“It’s been an interesting ride to say the least,” Adams wrote in his announcement. “I’d like to take a moment to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve you.”
Adams encourages residents to learn about the candidates who will seek the seat in the upcoming election, noting the lasting impact of the court.
“Most people don’t realize that a Justice of the Peace is a State Judge and noted in the Texas Constitution as a ‘Conservator of the Peace,’” Adams said. “It’s not always an easy task to take on.”
UPDATE: The Smith County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed on Tuesday that the woman who lived on the property where the dogs were discovered has died.
TROUP – Our news partner KETK is reporting that 44 dogs were seized from an East Texas property on Friday morning at what Smith County investigators believe is a puppy mill. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, around 11:45 a.m., first responders were dispatched to a medical call in the 19200 block of FM 345 near Troup. Once on the scene, medical personnel smelled a strong odor of feces, with multiple kennelled and loose dogs.
When Smith County investigators arrived on scene, they found that none of the dogs had received care of any kind for at least twelve hours and that they were not receiving an adequate amount of care, food or water.
“Smith County Animal Control responded to the location, and upon arrival, 44 dogs were seized and transported to the Smith County Animal Control Shelter,” officials said. “Of the 44 dogs rescued, 41 appear to be pure-bred Whippets and 3 appear to be pure-bred Standard Poodles. Several of the dogs were malnourished with skin disorders, overgrown nails and possible gastrointestinal disorders.” Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY – The Smith County Appraisal District is looking for a community representative to help with appraising property values in the county.
The district’s board of directors has a community representative that’s appointed by the Smith County Commissioners Court in order to speak for the community as the district determines who much value a given property can be taxed for. According to our news partner KETK the county’s current representative is Annie Dwyer and she’s moving out of Smith County so her seat will be vacant starting on Dec. 31. Applicants must reside in Smith County for at least two years in order to serve on the district’s board of directors.
The court is accepting applications until Monday, Sept. 29. To apply for the two-year community representative term that starts on Jan. 1, 2026, visit Smith County online.
TEXARKANA – A man was arrested on Sunday following a shooting in a Texarkana apartment complex according to our news partner KETK.
The Texarkana Police Department received calls on Sunday stating that a 34-year-old man had been shot at an apartment complex. Once officials arrived on the scene, they identified the suspect, who appeared to have sustained several gunshot wounds, and he was taken to a local hospital, where his condition was believed to be non-life-threatening. Following the shooting, officials identified 24-year-old Jack Nelson as the suspect. Officials went to Nelson’s home, but he was not there. They returned later that day after receiving a call from his family stating that he was home and willing to turn himself in.
Following his arrest, Nelson was booked into the Bi-State Jail and charged with aggravated assault. His bond has been set at $100,000.